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 Val
Avery Memorial Scholarship
On Friday, April 7, 2006, our beloved colleague,
instructor, board member and friend, Dr. Val Avery, died unexpectedly
in her sleep.
As we, at Grand Circle Field School, have
struggled to find a way to cope with this devastating loss,
we have decided
to establish the Val Avery Memorial Scholarship fund to
honor our dear friend and to spread her enthusiasm for historical/environmental
studies on the Arizona Strip to students who may need financial
assistance in order to attend GCFS classes.
If you are so inclined to honor
Val in this way, send your checks to:
GCFS — Val
Avery Memorial Scholarship
7728 Cedar Canyon Court NE
Albuquerque, NM 87122
We'll keep you apprised
of its progress and we'll send the family a letter
acknowledging your gift. In addition, we'll send
you a letter acknowledging your donation for your taxes.
Thank
you.
• • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •
 Val was born in Great Falls, Montana, and grew up on ranches
and alfalfa farms in the Sun River Valley, west of Great Falls.
She attended Rocky Mountain College in Billings, and Brigham
Young University, and graduated magna cum laude from Rocky
Mountain College with a degree in foreign languages. Following
her graduation, she worked for World University Services and
lead tour groups in Europe. Val moved to Flagstaff, Arizona
in 1971. From1972 to 1978, Val hosted the television program “Thrifty
Kitchen” for the University of Arizona Extension Service.
In 1975, Val teamed up with Linda King Newell to begin research
for a biography of Emma Hale Smith, wife of Joseph Smith,
founder of the Church of Latter-Day Saints. This inspired
Val to continue her education at Northern Arizona University,
where her work on Emma’s life formed the foundation
for her master’s thesis. She obtained her master’s
degree in history in 1981 and her Ph.D. in history in 1984.
Val
Avery taught American history at Northern Arizona University
for twenty-two years, specializing in Mormon, western American,
and Colorado Plateau history at both the graduate and undergraduate
level. In a statement so typical of Val, she once remarked "It's
a source of joy and pride that many of my students are writing
and researching Grand Canyon topics and are doing it better
than I." The highlight of her teaching career came in
2001, when the students at NAU dedicated Homecoming to her.
Her books include Mormon Enigma: Emma Hale Smith (co-authored
with Linda Newell) and From Mission to Madness: Last Son
of the Mormon Prophet. Both won the Evans Award for western
biography; she is the only writer to win that award twice.
She was also the author of many articles, reviews and commentaries.
Val
was a gifted mother: her four children- sons Chris, an attorney,
Nate, a neurosurgeon, and Thad, a real estate
developer, and daughter Maureen Meyer, an optometrist- are
a testament to her ability to inspire people to be their
best. Her children comment that Val raised them and all of
their friends~ no doubt, she also “raised” many
of her students, and some of her colleagues at Grand Circle
Field School, as well. She was an exceptional cook, hostess,
storyteller, grandmother, bargain shopper and an intrepid
explorer. Val’s smile would light up a room and her
sparkling personality warmed it.
We love you to pieces, Val,
and we’ll
miss you forever!
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